Now is the time to harvest your herbs for magical, cooking, and medicinal use all through the next twelve months. Herbs reaped during both the waxing and waning phases of this month are the most potent than at any other time of the year.

Lammas is the harvest festival that occurs on August 1. It is the First Harvest, which focuses on wheat, barley, maize, and other cereal crops. Arguably the most significant part of the Lammas festival is the reaping of the last stalks in the fields, which are made into the corn dolly.

The sabbat of Lammas, which occurs on August 1, is the First Harvest of wheat, barley, and maize. Lammas sabbat feels like a county fair replete with feasting and good-natured competition. It can be a giddy event infused with the rowdy, high-spirited energy of the young trickster sun-god Lugh.

Who is John Barleycorn? He is an aspect of the God whom we honor especially at the sabbat of Lammas, which is not just focused on wheat but also upon barley and all the alcohol beverages that can be made from it. Think of John Barleycorn as a personification of the cereal crops.

The Lammas altar celebrates the first harvest of wheat. It is still high summer on August 1, but you have reached the gateway to autumn. Lammas is the midpoint between midsummer and fall equinox. You are standing on the threshold between the growing and the great reaping.

Your Book of Mirrors is your personal journal where you clarify your feelings about your spiritual path as you learn more about Wicca or paganism. Let me give you writing prompts to use in your Book of Mirrors.

Those who know nothing of paganism and Wicca may think we practice blood sacrifice, but this part of our ritual actually centers upon the practice of cakes and ale. What are the elements of Wiccan sacrifice, and what purpose does it serve?

In Britain, "corn" is a term for all cereal crops such as wheat and barley, but in the United States, corn means maize. Celebrate both meanings with the July full Corn Moon, which marks the first shift into the harvest season as you pick ripe maize.